Objectives: To ascertain whether the number of sudden infant deaths as a result of suffocation in cribs, in adult beds, on sofas or chairs, and on other sleep surfaces was increasing whether attributable to increased reporting, diagnostic shift, or an actual increase in suffocation deaths and to compare the risk of reported accidental suffocation for infants on sleep surfaces designed for infants with the risk on adult beds. Methods: The authors reviewed all accidental suffocation deaths among infants [less than or equal to] 11 months of age reported to the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission from 1980 through 1983 and 1995 through 1998. Results: From the 1980s, 513 cases of infant suffocation were considered; from the 1990s, 883 cases. The number of reported suffocation deaths in cribs fell from 192 to 107, the number of reported deaths in adult beds increased from 152 to 391, and the number of reported deaths on sofas or chairs increased from 33 to 110. Conclusions: Reported deaths of infants who suffocated on sleep surfaces other than those designed for infants are increasing.